The most important things to remember in any given situation, at any stage of life...are to breathe, deeply and mindfully, to move your body daily and to nourish yourself with good food, good people or good vibes.

Pages

Wednesday, 23 January 2013

Goodevening! I am going to take a second today to brag...I am SO proud that my son, at 20months is completely nappy free!!!!!!!! This is cause for multiple and excessive exclamation marks!!!!!!!!! All of a sudden, he just hated wearing a nappy to bed after a few weeks of nappy free daytimes. This is going into the fifth night and I so far have not had to change our bedsheets. Elimination Communication is honestly something that makes so very much sense, going hand in hand with peaceful parenting (no rewards/punishments or toilet TRAININNG). So being completely chuffed in my clever little munchkin has made me once again over-share...sorry about that :)

Exciting news; I think I am going to appear in Womens Day magazine! Remember how I donated my breastmilk? Well, the main recipiet (or rather his beautiful mother) was asked to tell their story of recieving donated breastmilk via the Human Milk for Human Babies facebook page. Informal milk sharing is AWESOME. This is a great opportunity to spread the news that there is a better option to formula, that it doesnt have to be an expensive venture, and anything to normalise humans drinking human milk is a big step towards major health and environmental gains. I urge you if you are struggling to breastfeed to call the Australian Breastfeeding Association, visit a Lactation Consultant, arm yourself with factual information, gain the full support of your partner and loved ones, DONT give up, and if all else fails then seek the perfect source of nutrition for your babe. I definitelty plan on donating again when my supply comes back.

In training news...I have been SQUAT, SQUAT, squatting. That is honest to goodness the most important exercise anyone can do. If you cant squat - LEARN immediately. Come ask me, I'll show you. It doesnt have to be with weights, it doesnt have to be with heavy weights, but you need to learn how to squat for the health of your hips, your trunk and your...ummm "bits"...
My exercise of the week has been a single arm KB swing to overhead, followed by a squat. LOVE it. It's been hard to schedule time for training whilst all of our gym prep is taking place but I've been trying to do little bouts throughout the day, such as when I'm brushing my teeth! Cannot wait to get up at our open day and show everyone how we scale a WOD for pregnancy. Although I am nervous about keeping insanely fit throughout my pregnancy, somehow it never seems to be quite enough...but I am going into this fitter and more healthy than with River, here's to finding an extra hour in the day!

This week I had all my blood work done and it will be interesting to hear the results. I was not overly impressed with my dietician and now feel as though I could easily charge $130 for my nutrition consults haha. We have switched to a soymilk fortified with vit B12 and calcium although I dont really drink very much and should make more of an effort. You all know how I feel about supplements! It's so interesting, I have really lost faith in the fitness industy...it has become all about making a quick buck. From Ashley Bines to Herbalife/Yor Health, "guaranteed" results in x amount of time, IF you buy this supplement, take this pill, drink this shake, Oh and see a PT every day...the reason I am somewhat "unsuccessful" at what I do is because I dont sell any of this bullshit (excuse my french) and it grinds my gears that because of this, less qualified, less caring people rake in the big bucks!!! One day people will value their health over a quick fix...and then maybe I'll be rich & famous!! Rant over. With a quote to perk myself up:

Wednesday, 9 January 2013

I have been ambushed by my maternal health nurse whom is DESPERATELY concerned about mine, Rivers' & unborn baby Be's intake of vitamin B12. So tomorrow I am off to see a dietitian because obviously I am not putting the health of my children first by being a vegan and extended breastfeeding...dear god. I'm excited to see the dietitian though because I know my diet is well balanced and thought out (most of the time) and will be interested to hear her opinion. She is well educated and specialises in vegan diets, children and pregnancy (bingo!).

I have done much research on the topic but decided to give you all a few links to information regarding B12 supplements. With my milk supply decreasing we are making an afternoon smoothie for Riv with soy milk, coconut yogurt, berries, banana (or other fruit), moringa leaf powder and chlorella. My B12 stores were on the low side but not worrisome during my pregnancy with River. I am yet to have any blood tests during this pregnancy (18weeks on Saturday). As most of you know, I don't really take supplements, I take MuscleEase after workouts and add Chia/hemp seeds to at least one meal daily and obviously the moringa powder & chlorella when I make myself a smoothie. So I definitely do not take B12, most that I have found are not vegan. According to the next few articles you would think I am such an idiot...

If you can be bothered reading, basically there has not been enough conclusive research done to support plant sources of vitamin B12. I HAVE been relying on sea vegetables, mushrooms & chlorella...which one guy suggests I am CRAZY for doing so. The last two articles however, suggest that B12 deficiency is more to do with bacteria in the gut and absorption...and that I don't actually need to supplement. It will be interesting to see what the dietitian says.

Today I have been the carb queen...had half a bowl of oats with cinnamon, raspberries and soy milk at 6.30am, two salad rolls at 10am when Riv went to sleep, potato & leek soup with toast at 2pm for lunch (Riv slept til 1pm), and quinoa pasta with hearty vegetable & lentil sauce for dinner at 6pm. As you can see I haven't had nearly enough fruit and have filled up on too much bread. This week has been off with Eric working so hard on the factory and me trying to get my own business back to booming. We haven't meal planned or done a big shop so our meals are not as well structured as they should be. I also did a workout of hang cleans at 20kgs and pull ups (jumping) with some yoga tonight.
Tomorrow I will aim for fruit salad breakfast with coyo, kale chips (snack), soup for lunch, green salad in the afternoon, perhaps a brown rice curry for dinner and steamed apple for dessert.

Please leave me your email addresses if you would like to receive the very first Fresh Lift newsletter which is circulating now.

I am very tired today but I am slowly getting all I need to get done. This is going to be SUCH an exciting venture. Next weekend is Tough Mudder (I get to watch...), the following weekend is a Crossfit comp in Mildura (again I watch...), I do my Crossfit Level 1 early Feb and Project X should be unveiled at the same time!!! I'm finally getting in the habit of 'precence' and being happy exactly in the NOW although I tell you my hormones aren't helping!! It should also be mentioned that after my last blog I have been sick again TWICE, hardly acceptable second trimester behaviour if you ask me :)

Thankyou for your kind words after last weeks blog, I am strong because I have a great foundation of support in you guys, my family, and my dear friends.

Thursday, 3 January 2013

So, I wanted to be honest...the past 12months have been insane. It's been a year of great joy, gut-wrenching grief, big mistakes, bigger lessons, beautiful love and the endless pursuit of happiness.
It has been amazing watching my son become a toddler, observing the relationships he has with others and the world around him. I am incredibly proud of my parenting and know that as many times as I've screwed up, at least I have this one thing down pat...at least my son will never doubt for a second that I love him with all of my heart.

So the biggest challenge I am facing is the new baby currently residing in my womb. On Saturday I think I'll be 16weeks pregnant, and I am already the size of a small whale...I am yet to weigh myself but the goal I have set is to only put on 15kgs. With River I put on about 16 so it should be interesting to see how this goes. I was hit with extreme exhaustion and nausea from about 7-15weeks so am glad to say I'm feeling far better now. But my tummy has popped out about 2months ahead of where I was with River...annoying as I was feeling awesome in myself prior to the news. Training was going well but I stopped most of my crossfit while dancing concerts took priority and had a week off any 'real' exercise but am slowly back into it now. I love training through pregnancy, love disproving the whole "delicate condition" stigma, love empowering myself.

Obviously this baby was unexpected and conceived in a very new relationship. People have been unintentionally hurt by the news and I must say it's been a rocky beginning. It is hard to convey the guilt I feel for disappointing everyone, and it's hard to explain how alone I have felt in this. I am really back to square one. But my new years goal is to be happy in the present with what I have and as two of my good girlfriends told me, if anyone can make the most of this situation, it's me. So I am trying to be resilient, humble and aware. The people that have stuck by me will be always in my heart as even the smallest words of empathy and understanding have really helped me stay afloat, thankyou.

﻿

So I thought to leave you with an inspiring thought; whether its training, getting your food right, changing your lifestyle, falling in love, moving on or taking a risk...there is magic in all things and there is a time for all things. Miracles happen daily and at every second there is a chance to do good, be amazing, change the world and stay true to yourself.